Car-seal.



P. DOW.

CAR SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20,1914.

1, 1 1 2, 1 23, Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

[/3 /Z 44 /3.// /O L L UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FLOYD DOW, 0F WYANET, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB OI ONE-HALF '10 30H]! C.BASHUBSEN, OF WYANET, ILLINOIS.

CARSIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Kay 20, 1914. Serial No. 888,722.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLOYD Dow, a citizen of the United States, residingat Wyanet, in the county of Bureau and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Car-Seals, of which the'following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of car seals, inwhich the shackle is a strip of frangible sheet-metal (usually tin bentupon itself and carrying on one end a hollow head, into which the oposite end of the strip is insertible to be he (1 against withdrawal byautomatically locking means in the head.

In the accompanying drawing, the views in which show the parts exagerated beyond actual size, Figure 1 is a brien plan view of theshackle-blank; F ig. 2 is a section of the car seal on line 2, Fig. 3,showing the shackle broken away and in its condition be,-

fore applying the seal; Fig; 3 is a plan section on line 3, Fig. 2, andFig. 4 is a view like that presented by Fig. 2, but showing theinsertible end of the shackle locked in the head.

The head 5 is formed of a rounded top provided with a recessed flange 6about its ed e and a bottom part having a flat base an a flange 7 aboutits edge confined in the recessed flange 6 for securing together the twoparts of the head. The flat base contains' a central slotc8 of a widthto permit the shackle 9 to pass through it. The shackle, which is astrip of tin so frangible that it will not withstand repeated bendingwithout breaking, has an eye 10 formedin it near one end. Near theopposite end of e the shackle is formed a rectangular cut 11,

and some distance from the latter a similar cut is formed. Between thesecuts, at the same distance from each, slots '12 are rovided havingnarrow elongated depressions or sockets 13 extendin from theirrelatively opposite sides; and tween these slots a narrow elongated slot14 is formed in the shackle centrally between its edges; The materialsevered by each cut 11 in the shackle is bent outwardly to a right-angleto form a stop shoulder 11', for the purpose hereinafter explained.

For assembling the parts to produce the car-seal in a form ready forapplication to its use, the two parts of the head are separate. Theshackle is bent upon itself into 'endsbent to project inwardly, as shownat 15", is then applied in a manner to introduce the'ends 15 intothesockets 13 and extend the ring through the bowedslot 14, as shown inFigs. 2 and 3. With. the ends 15" thus yieldingl confined in the sockets13, the ri-n is he d under tension to clamp itself sta ly in place to bedisplaced for performing its locking functio n as hereinafter explained.The to member of the head is then applied tot e base-member and theflangefi is clenched about the flange 7 to secure the two head memberstogether.

To lock the seal}! in applying it in the usual manner, the .form toinsert its end containing the eye 10 into the head through the base-slot8. In thus inserting the shackle-end, it is guided between the portionsofthe shackle containing the openings formed at the cuts 11 bybendingthe sections to produce the shoulders 11'; and when the insertedshackle-end abuts against the ring 15 in its path, the continuedpressure withdraws the ring-ends 15 out of the sockets into registrationwith the slots 12, with which the eye 10 also then regackle is bentintoloop isters. The resilient action of the ring then springs its endspast each' other through those slots and the shackle-eye, therebycausing the ring to lock the shackle end against withdrawal.

will be seen, the described construction precludes the possibility of afalse introduction of the inserted shackle-end into the head, since itsonly path into the latter is under the described central guidance throuh the slot 8. It will also be apparent that t e' end of the shacklepermanently in the head is secured therein without requir ing any meansfor the purpose other than or separate from the shackle itself; that thestability of the locking ring, before it is contracted by displacementin inserting the eye-containing shackle-end, and afterward when in itscontracted condition wherein it is confined in the bowed slot 14,prevents the ring from tiltin into a osition wherein that end of the sackle mig t be withdrawn 'between the overlapping ring-ends; that theconfinement 10f the ring-ends in the sockets prevents the ring, as byaccidental jarring, from assuming its locking position, with the endsoverlappin through the slots 12,- wherein it woul obstruct introductionof the eye-end of the'shackle and thus render the seal inoperative; andthat the only. way

to undo the seal is to break the shackle by bending or twisting-itapart, at the sections outside of the head which are weakened byopenings formed by the cuts 11, though this would leave the parts in thehead to prevent insertion into the latter through the slot 8 of thebroken shackle-ends (which insertion would tend to prevent detection),so that such breaking would inevitably lead to detection of tamperingwith the seal. These and other advantages are afforded by my improvedconstruction, which, besides, is comparatively simple and inex ensive tomanufacture, involving only ibur parts.

site slots, and a split resilient locking ring extending through bothlegs of said longitudinal slot and having in-turned ends yieldinglyconfined in said sockets, the shackle extending from the head throughsaid insertion-slot and having its eye-containi ng end insertible intothe headthrough said insertion-slot to release and actuate the,

locking ring' FLOYD now In presence of W. I. KENDALL, CLAUDE BROWN.

